


Relaxing Respite

by penguins_and_such



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Married Couple
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-09-11 23:06:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16861765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/penguins_and_such/pseuds/penguins_and_such
Summary: It's Akaashi's birthday! A super short story about giving him a day off.





	Relaxing Respite

**Author's Note:**

> This is completely unedited, sorry for any grammatical errors. Or any other errors. I might edit it later, I might not. Who knows.   
> Not me.

 

Keiji rolled over and awoke to the warm light of the sun hitting his face. It was golden and warm, illuminating the room in the dewy hues of early morning. The peaceful scene cuts a sense of panic through him, he must have slept in. He briefly wonders how Koutarou could let that happen before he remembers what day it is. He has today off.

His hand reaches out to the space Koutarou had occupied during the night, pondering the self-restraint his husband must have commanded to allow him to sleep. A soft smile overtakes his face, it’s such a simple thing, but in his eyes its undeniably sweet. Although in all honesty, he might have preferred to have seen him off for the day.

He stretches lazily before reaching for his phone to check the time. The screen is filled with the predictable amount of notifications from both real people and applications. Nestled among them is an invitation from Kenma to meet at his favorite coffee shop. He sends his reply and stretches once more before getting out of bed. The time they set gives him plenty of time to get ready, and he’s in no rush.

After using the restroom, he pads out to the living room and flicks the television on. Some morning news program fills the air, background noise while he scrolls through his social media accounts. That’s how he passes his early morning, at his own leisure. His shower is long, and the water is starting to run tepid instead of hot when he steps out of it and begins to get ready in earnest.

In truth, he hadn’t planned on leaving their apartment today, but he doesn’t really mind meeting Kenma for coffee. Especially when he had made no mention of bringing along Keiji’s number one nuisance. Not that he minded Kuroo-san _too_ much. He would just rather not deal with the master provocateur on a day he had set aside specifically to relax.

He goes for a pair of relaxed fit jeans and a cozy sweater. It is still his birthday, and he doesn’t feel like putting forth any effort. Not like Kenma would care.

On his way out, he pauses in front of the console table in hallway. Its surface is home to their small, but growing, owl collection. All kinds of figurines sit disorderly on it. A shiny white porcelain owl sits next to an astonishingly grumpy looking brown owl. An unpainted clay owl sits next to an astonishingly detailed ceramic one, each feather lovingly painted into a beautiful pattern. Koutarou got that one from a flea market, for his birthday after they had first gotten together. They were both still in university and neither had very much money, honestly Keiji hadn’t expected any kind of gift. So much so that when he stumbled upon it in Koutarou’s dorm he had asked how long he’d had that one.

Koutarou’s face had turned red and he bemoaned the fact that Keiji had ruined his own surprise.

“It wasn’t very much ‘Kaashi, and it reminded me of you.”

Keiji’s cheeks still turn a bit rosy at the memory. He catches himself picking up the owl and turning it over in his hands, feeling the finely etched feathers with the tips of his fingers. It was so incredibly sweet and tender. Keiji had spent the next few months looking for the perfect owl to return the favor in kind.

Needless to say, many of the owls housed similar memories, although some had been gifted from friends and family. Those, too, filled his chest with a light, airy warmth. He sets the owl back down on the table carefully before retrieving his wallet and keys from one of the drawers below.

He returns from the coffee shop with much of that same feeling resonating in his chest. Kenma isn’t very talkative, but moments spent with him are pleasant in their own way.

The weather hasn’t quite warmed up so Keiji stays in his sweater and sits in bed, laying upright against the pillows. He turns on the television and finds himself flicking through channels before ultimately settling on a well-acclaimed drama he’d been meaning to catch up on.

Rain starts to patter softly against the window at some point, making Keiji look out at the steely gray skies. Maybe there will be snow today. His attention is pulled back to the show as the main character yells at someone. Then the scene swiftly changes to one of the side characters in a much softer, tender moment. Keiji shivers against a sudden chill and pulls a blanket over himself.

* * *

 

Koutarou all but sprints home, spurred on by the chill in the air and the excitement of celebrating Keiji’s birthday with him. He would’ve headed straight there from the gym, but he had to stop by Kuroo’s house to pick up the birthday boys gift.

He’s had to be vigilant about hiding it ever since that first time Keiji found it. When he gets to their front door he carefully pokes his head in before seeing the coast is clear and quickly steps inside. He places his burden inside the coat closet before proceeding to take off his shoes and enter the apartment properly.

“I’m home.” He mumbles it more to himself, a grin splitting his face as he walks to the living room, expecting Keiji to be curled up on the couch. When he doesn’t find him there he wanders back to their bedroom. Where Keiji is laid out on their bed, a blanket draped across his form as he dozes peacefully.

Soft sounds drift from the television that he must have left on. Koutarou snorts at the simple fact that he’s come back to find Keiji in pretty much the same state he had left him in. Well, he can’t really fault him, the point of today was for him to rest and relax.  

Koutarou lingers a few minutes longer before sneaking away from the peaceful scene as quietly as he can. This works out perfectly, Koutarou has plenty of time to work on dinner.

Once he reaches the kitchen he starts setting out ingredients and getting the stovetop ready. He’s no master chef, but he knows for a fact that he makes more than decent pasta. Plus, it’s relatively quick.

He starts dicing tomatoes and boiling water, humming to himself as he works.

Soon enough he hears shuffling and looks over to the kitchen doorway to see Keiji standing there, looking only mildly rumpled.

* * *

 

When Keiji wakes up the sky is dark, and he knows a significant amount of time has passed. He yawns and stretches out, trying to dispel the last vestiges of drowsiness that cling to his consciousness. When he takes another deep breath he catches the scent of something delicious. His stomach cramps, serving as an acute reminder that he hasn’t eaten since that visit to the coffeeshop.

Koutarou must be home, and cooking pasta from the smell that floats throughout the apartment. He rubs his face and gets out of bed to greet him. Once he’s made his way to the kitchen Koutarou turns to greet him, soft smile in place.

Keiji wordlessly steps forward and wraps his arms around him, burying his face between his shoulder blades.

“Hey, Keiji. Seems like you had a restful day.” Koutarou continues his work at the stovetop, Keiji feeling the muscles beneath him move as he does so.

He moves away from him and only hums in response before clearing a space on the island and hopping up to sit atop it. No other words are spoken as Koutarou finishes up their dinner, Keiji simply enjoying the sight and the familiar silence between them. It’s not awkward, after all these years. They haven’t run out of things to talk about. They’re both simply enjoying the moment.

Keiji takes a moment to look around the kitchen they’ve already made so many memories in. The sink where they washed dishes that first night and Koutarou had dropped a plate, shattering it to pieces. They had both simply looked at one another, Kou with embarassment in his eyes, before Keiji had burst into laughter. It was such a mundane thing to happen, but it was one of the first of many mundane parts of their lives together. It was so exciting, it still is, but now in a more gentle way. He watches his husband portion out the food and feels his affection swell up.

“Koutarou.” His voice is still a bit raspy from sleep, but Kou looks up all the same. He catches his face in both hands and pulls him in for a chaste kiss. When he pulls away he rests his forehead against his and looks into those captivating golden eyes. “Thank you.”

His husband pulls away and sheepishly rubs the back of his neck. “I mean, you haven’t tasted this food yet, or even gotten your present.”

Keiji feels the gentle smile slide onto his face. “I know.” Kou gets a slight blush, high on his cheeks, before he clears his throat and takes their plates to the kitchen table. Then, without warning he turns and hoists Keiji off the island counter.

“Kou!” Keiji feels his face color slightly as he’s lifted. Something he should be used to, being married to a professional athlete and all. He’s placed gently into his seat, still a bit dazed as Koutarou turns to the counter once more.

After some fiddling and the sound of a gentle pop he turns back around with an open bottle of wine and two empty glasses.

“It’s that one from the fancy restaurant we went to for our anniversary like, two years back?” He presents it with a flourish and Akaashi examines the label with surprise. Even he had forgotten about it, but now that it’s in front of him he remembers just how much he had enjoyed it.

He shakes his head, wondering what he must have done in a past life to deserve his husband. “Kou, you’re incredible.”

Aforementioned husband sits down across from him. “Hey hey Keiji there you go again, singing my praises before you’ve even really seen anything.” Even as he says this Keiji can tell he’s beaming under the praise.

The rest of their dinner passes like most of their other dinners, telling each other what they did that day, or of something that reminded them of the other. That same comfortable silence blankets them towards the end, until Koutarou pulls out a cake from the fridge. He does the whole presentation, off-key singing and everything. Keiji can’t help the chuckles that escape before he blows out his candles. Kou ducks in to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before holding up a single finger.

“Now, I have to get your gift, gimme a second!” Before he’s even finished speaking he’s taken off down the hallway, and Keiji hears a door open and close. Koutarou reappears with a big, lumpy package wrapped in plain brown paper. He sets it in front of him with a flourish- but looks somewhat apprehensive.

Keiji gives the object a look of trepidation, but Koutarou waves his hands in a ‘go-on’ motion. He tears the paper at the top open with his fingernails and rips down.

What greets him is the face of the ugliest owl plush he’s ever seen. The plush itself is fairly large, probably about a foot tall, and well made. But the features of the owl’s face… it’s somewhere between realism and cute. It settled on a part of that scale that was…mildly unsettling. Yet… the longer he stared at it the more he could see the appeal. The features were a bit at odds, with its cartoonish hooded eyes, and the slender, sharp plastic beak. The plush feathers were soft and beautifully detailed, but the talons at the base were a dark grey, with pebbled detailing that looked almost too realistic.

He ran a hand down its side, taking it in. A strange addition to the collection, but a welcome one. He looked up to Koutarou, who was watching him with pinched brows and a hopeful look in his eyes. The nervousness dissipated off his face once Keiji smiled up at him, replaced with his luminous grin.

“It’s perfect, Kou.”

 

 

 

 


End file.
